Chapter 16.4

1400s Portuguese explored African Coast Built small forts

Trade for gold Collect food and water Repair ships

Lacked power to push into interior Attacked coastal cities of E Africa

Mombasa Malindi Hubs of international trade Expelled Arabs and took over

By 1600- sunk into povertyTrade with interior dwindledDutch, English, French built fortsExchanged muskets, tools and cloth for gold,

ivory, hides, and slaves

1500s Europeans: slaves most important item in African trade Slaves

Existed all over the world since ancient times Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians, Aztecs all

enslaved defeated foes “Slave” comes from the word Slav

Large # of Slavs taken from S Russia to work as unpaid laborers in Roman times

Arab empire used captives from Africa as slaves Worked on farming or large-scale irrigation projects Artisans, soldiers, merchants

Some rose to prominence in Muslim world

Atlantic slave trade began to fill need for laborers in Spain’s American empire

Over 300 years, grew to profitable business

10,000+ slaves per year

Work on tobacco and sugar plantations

Europeans seldom went into interior

Relied on African rulers to seize captives in interior and bring them to the coast

Captives exchanged for textiles, metalwork, rum, tobacco, weapons, gunpowder

Slave trade intensified as demand increased

3-legged trade network First leg

Merchant ships brought goods to Africa to be traded for slaves

Second leg: Middle Passage Slaves transported to West Indies Exchanged for sugar, molasses, other products

Third leg Products shipped to Europe or American colonies Port cities that depended on slave trade

Nantes, FranceBristol, EnglandSalem, Massachusetts

Hundreds of Africans packed below the decks of slave ships

“Floating coffins”

½ died on board

Some resisted or tried to seize ship

1-6 month journey

depending on weather

Male captives chained together in pairs to save space

Fed beans, corn, yams, rice, palm oil

One meal a day with water

If food was scarce, slaveholders got priority over slaves

Some refused to eat

Force fed with speculum orim- device that held the mouth open

Most shackled throughout journey

Went to the bathroom where they lay

Very little air ventilation

Disease and starvation

DepressionLed to force feedings, lashings

Suicide frequent occurrence

Some African leaders tried to slow/stop trade

In the end, system that supported trade was too strong

Affonso I: Ruler of Kongo

Developed Kongo into modern Christian state

“It is our will that in these Kingdoms there should not be any trade of slaves nor outlet for them”

Trade in human lives is evil

Ruler of Northern Senegal

Futa Toro

Forbade sale of slaves in his ports

Returned gifts from sea captains

French found a new route to bypass them

Estimated 20 million slaves sent to Americas

An additional 20 million died in Middle Passage

Stopped in mid-1800s

Caused decline of some African states, rise of others

Some small states disappeared forever

New states arose whose way of life depended on the slave trade

War waged between kingdoms for control

Oyo, Bornu, Dahomey

Asante kingdom in Ghana

Right to rule came “from heaven”

Monopoly over gold industry and slave trade

Played European rivals against each other

1700-1800s

Islamic revival

North, West and East Africa

Social and religious reforms based on Sharia law

Wars quieted

Literacy increased

Trade improved

1780-1880

12+ Islamic leaders rose to power

Bantu-speaking people migrated to S Africa

1652: Dutch immigrants arrived

Built Cape Town

Ousted or enslaved herders

Boers

Calvinist belief that they were chosen of God

Looked on Africans as inferiors

Migrated to S Africa

Major force

Waged war on nearby peoples

Absorbed them into his regiments

Encouraged them to forget differences

Pride in Zulu kingdom

Threatened by Boers

1815

Cape Colony passed from Dutch to British

Resented British laws that abolished slavery

Escaped rule by joining Boer families in moving north

“Great Trek”

Came across Zulus

Fighting broke out

Struggle raged until end of century